1. Russia has an area of 6,592,770 square miles. California has an area of 158,870 square miles. Therefore, Russia is 49 times bigger than the state of California.
2. The government in Russia is now very similar to the government of the United States. There is a democratic based government, which consists of many parties.
3. Although there are more than a hundred languages spoken in Russia, Russian is the official language.
4. Greek Orthodox is the most commonly practiced religion, although Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Protestant, and Catholic is also practiced.
5. There are many national resources found in Russia. The main ones are mineral fuels, petroleum, coal reserves, and natural gas.
6. Currently, the Russian population is 147,100,000.
7. There are many things that are unique to the Russian culture, but among them, the most unique, is that according to the Russian calendar, Christmas falls on January 7^th. There is also a national pancake week called Maslyanitsa. And lastly there are the very festive days of Kolyadki.
8. The traditional diet consists of the same food that is found in the United States, hamburgers, pizza, hot dogs, sandwiches, potatoes, meats, and vegetables.
9. Russia has a good relationship with the U.S., and they are also strong allies in the fight against terrorism.
10. There were many important events that occurred in Russia. There were 3 events that were the most important. The first is that in 988 A.D., Vladimir the 1^st converted to Orthodox Christianity, and made it the official religion of Russia. This had many effects over the entire next millennium. The second is that in 1547 A.D., Ivan the 4^th, expanded Russia’s territory greatly. The third major event occurred in 1689 A.D., when Peter the took full power as the tsar, and made Russia a world power.
11. The climate in Russia varies entirely. In northern Siberia there are extreme temperature ranges, whereas in European-Russia, there is a temperate continental climate.
12. A significant current issue that Russia faces right now is a poor economy. Russia has a poor economy due to the fact that only 10 years ago Russia made a transition from a communist economy. Now Russia has to struggle to get the economy strong again.
13. An interesting fact that I learned about Russia, is that Russia occupies 1/9 of the Earths land mass.
14. 3 things that I would like to answer by the end of the year are 1. Why does the Russian population decrease yearly? 2. Who are some of the best Russian composers, writers, and scientists? 3. Why did Russia not have a written language until Cyril the monk invented it?

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